Occasional cough

I am posting this for a friend. She has a dog about 5 years old with an occasional cough for many years. She had X-rays done and they show normal trachea. Vet said he has no heart problem. He told her this. Collapsing trachea is a dynamic situation. It is detectable at inspiration, when there is negative pressure in the airway. To prove if an animal has it, the radiograph needs to be taken on inspiration. Your dog's radiographs were taken mid breath and we don't know if the air was coming in or going out. Other than that there are other minor markers of potential collapsing trachea but I do not see them Now when you listen to those coughs in many of them you hear a blast of air first and the a honk at the end of the cough. That honk is tracheal vibration. This means that trachea is still involved, collapse or not.. She has another appointment scheduled. But he didn’t tell her the markers . He’s put him on allergy medication and has stopped coughing every day to just a few days only once this se days very quickly and he said just continue. And thinks it’s just allergies. He’s a young dog around 5 and weights about 21 and a half pounds. Does anyone know what they are?

Hello!  I do not know specifically what your vet meant by the other minor markers of collapsing trachea in this case, but would suggest asking them directly.  It sounds as though the treatment given and the passage of time have been quite successful in resolving this case so far.   Another possible cause of coughing of tracheal origin is an infectious disease known as kennel cough (tracheobronchitis).  Infectious tracheal coughs such as kennel cough can easily take up to 3 weeks to clear, where as collapsing trachea and chronic allergies are chronic (long term) conditions which may return.   Best of luck.

You haven't told me how heart problems were ruled out, but long-lasting coughs can be caused by an increase in heart size, so if the cough doesn't go then it's worth checking with your vet whether heart related coughing has been ruled out completely.